I *think* I've tried all of them? *glazed eyes*

[bironic]

OMG, the amount of angst that has gone into putting together a festivids recs post. I am embarrassed to admit! But apparently not so embarrassed that I won't tell you about it.

I don't know what the problem is. No, yes, I do -- made-up pressure to rec all the "good" ones like a guide, like a test proving I understand what makes a good vid. This is not a guide. It is a pointer to my favorites. (Even that feels like too definitive a statement. There may be vids in this post that I won't like as much later. There may be vids in the masterlist that will grow on me if/when given more attention.) Also the sheer number of vids means there are more good ones, which means it's harder to decide where to stop here. Also also, I think there's this worry I'll discover after reveals that I didn't include something by my favorite vidders, like that would invalidate whom I think I like or something.

ANYWAY. Here are the ones I've rewatched most, followed by others that clicked with or stood out for me, for whatever reason -- editing style, music choice, emotional impact, ability to understand the thesis, audiovisual quality, a touch of magic, that old mix of objective and subjective variables.

(...Normal people just open with "Festivids recs!", don't they.)

Favorites, in alphabetical order

• Breathe Me by kj_svala (Defiance) - If you don't know the show, this doesn't give you the whole picture of Irisa, but as far as her more vulnerable side goes, this really conveys the heart and the importance of her relationship with Nolan. The pair of hugs at ~2:20 are especially moving to me.
• No Church in the Wild by obsessive24 (The Tudors) - It took three or four watches and a couple of readings of the lyrics to grasp what was being done here, and it's remarkable. Power, corruption, religion, futility.
• Paradise Circus by chaila (Stoker) - Striking repetitions of imagery; creepy; wrong; beautiful. Convinced me I need to see the movie after all.
• The Red Shoes by luminosity (The Red Shoes) - Haunting phantasmagoria melds with an increasingly intense/distraught reality. Most people are reccing the other vid for this movie, "Toxic," but the music choice there didn't work for me. I didn't much care for the movie when I saw it years ago, but this was enthralling. Five minutes pass like two.
• Sleep No More by isagel (Strange Days) - As previously recced. Mace, kicking ass and trying to wake up Lenny before the city and everyone they love falls apart around them.
• Who Are You, Really? by obsessive24 (Dredd) - How often do you say you wish a vid were longer? I don't know much about Dredd but there are countless moments of real beauty in this: the guards getting shot in their viewing room, the bullet shells piling up.
• Wish by sol_se (Arena) - This movie has been in my Netflix queue for a vid I plan to make, and now I'm bumping it up, because wow, was this vid dark and compelling. The song reminds me of that mind-bending Vividcon vid of The Cell a few years ago.

Also really liked, in no particular order

Intense

• Who Are You, Defenders of the Universe by ohvienna (The Americans)
• What Sharp Teeth You Have by affablyevil (Hanna)
• kneel before the queen by leanwellback (Snow White and the Huntsman)
• Psalm 40:2 by mithborien (Constantine)

Character Studies

• The Boxer by bisclaveret (Carnavale) - Tim DeKay \o/, but mind the spoilers.
• Final Round by anoel (Pariah)
• Trembling Heart by thingswithwings (Dottie Gets Spanked) - I had never heard of this movie, but by the end I was choked up with empathy for this kid experiencing his (internal) sexual awakening, discovering it's a little kinky, and facing the disapproval of key adults around him. ETA: Here is a smart reading by ghost-lingering that discusses the fannish narrative too.

Sad

• Lifeforms by Dayln (Never Let Me Go)

Family <3

• Helping Hand by trelkez (Little Women)
• You Can't Go Back Now by dance_the_dance (Orange is the New Black)
• I Am the Rain by shinyjenni (Brave)

Dancey

• Moves Like Jaeger by Di (Pacific Rim) - This song is one of the few singles by Maroon 5 I can't stand, but it was still worth watching this vid. Robots and their controllers like dance moves. And I guess they're called Jaegers, hence the pun in the title? Runs long, but it would work perfectly for Club Vivid.

Action

• Gasoline by trelkez (Die Hard)

Cute

• Do My Thing by laurashapiro (The Heat) - So well-clipped. It's a little like sol_se's "Red Moon" vid of John and Ronon, showing each character's quirks and personalities and then bringing them together as a synchronized team.
• 9 to 5 by eruthros (Lego Star Wars)
• Uncharted by sweetestdrain (Warm Bodies)
• Dirtee Disco by Nancy Blackett (The Muppet Show) - So much nostalgia. Plus disco.
• A New Groove by tearful_eye (The Emperor's New Groove) - The Pink Panther theme, you guys.

LOL WTF

• Battle Without Honor or Humanity by jetpack_monkey and Bluebird of Fisticuffs by Sanguinity (Danger 5)
• The Good, The Bad, The Ugly And The Other Guys by valika (Raumpatrouille/Space Patrol Orion)

Editing Especially

• Such Great Heights by chaila (WALL-E)
• Freedom at 21 by obsessive24 (The White Queen)

Honorable Mentions for Song Choice

• Tradition by seekingferret (Arrested Development)
• Ready for the Storm by destina (Apollo 13) - Because spacefaring is like heading out to sea in the old days, and Apollo 13 was like a ship being swamped, far from home.
• I'm British by valoise (Sleepy Hollow)

Honorable Mention for Tone Shift

• (This Isn't) Control by sabaceanbabe (Lost Boys) - This transforms campy '80s into something really sinister.

Big-hearted

• This Could All Be Yours by fan_eunice (Big)
• Love Can Move Mountains by Nancy Blackett (The Muppets)

Intriguing/Pimping

• Never seen the light of day by violace (Bioshock Infinite)
• Radio by jetpack_monkey (Hey Ash, Whatcha Playin'?)
• One Stage Before by scribe (Om Shanti Om)

Let's see: That's 16 for sources I've seen and 23 for those I haven't.

And now, to errands/work. festivids-watching party later with local fanpeople! Looking forward to that.

Comments

[amnisias.livejournal.com]

No, yes, I do -- made-up pressure to rec all the "good" ones like a guide, like a test proving I understand what makes a good vid.(...) Also also, I think there's this worry I'll discover after reveals that I didn't include something by my favorite vidders, like that would invalidate whom I think I like or something.

Thank you so much for putting this into words. It is sooo hard, I'm kinds feeling like I'm gonna out myself as 'the one who has no clue about vidding'. Stupid brain is being stupid....

[isagel.livejournal.com]

Haha, yes, ditto! I'm going through the vids very slowly this year, due to work being a complete mess at the moment, and I'm feeling the "oh, no, how to make a rec post?" pressure, too.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

*support group*

[bironic.livejournal.com]

At least there are (at minimum) three of us? *clings to you* And it's so silly, when it's not like a lot of people care what I include in a festivids recs list.

[ghost_lingering]

Yes, seconded! I tend to just recc the gift(s) made for me, if I have time to recc anything at all. I also always feel bad because ... sometimes there are vids that everyone likes and I don't or vids that I like that no one else seems to and so ~paranoia~ Also I have never in my life watched every single Festivid and watching all of them before writing up reccs seems to be what is encouraged? /fail.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

>>watching all of them before writing up reccs seems to be what is encouraged?

Is it? I've seen both - people doing it in batches, and completists like me who have even more anxiety than described above if they try to rec things without seeing the whole set first to pick from.

[ghost_lingering]

Well, yes, I've seen both too, but in either case there is still this presumption of completeness within the parameters in which they are reccing; whether the recc list is for fandoms A-H or fandoms A-Z the person has almost always watched (or says that they have watched) all of the vids within that category. And I'm never going to watch all the vids in fandoms A-H much less all the vids in fandoms A-Z! So even if I broke up a recc list into sections (fandoms A-H, etc) my vid watching will never be complete enough for me to feel 100% comfortable doing a for reals recc list without a bunch of caveats. If that makes sense?

The post I did earlier doesn't entirely count for me because I was mostly just talking about the two gifts I received, which of course I'm going to be biased towards. The three links at the end were mostly an afterthought; at the time I'd barely seen 15 vids from the masterlist, if that. I'm maybe up to seeing 40 vids at this point, more if you count vids that I stopped part way through because I just wasn't feeling it. I love watching vids, but I just can't watch that many in two weeks and enjoy it -- and that's even assuming that I'd enjoy all the vids if I wasn't rushing, which isn't exactly the case. (Which, nothing wrong with any of the vids! But I know that I'm not going to like every single one, even if they are all excellent. My taste is broad but not that broad.)

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Sure, that makes sense. But if it's any consolation, I have seen some recs posts where the reccer simply says, 'Here are some vids I've enjoyed of those I've watched so far,' without further elaboration.

[flywoman.livejournal.com]

Thanks for this post! I only know a handful of the sources even tangentially, but I liked the ones I watched.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Something I like about Festivids (as opposed to, say, Yuletide) is how often vids for unfamiliar sources turn out to be quite accessible, or at least enjoyable even when you know you're missing some layers.

[laura47.livejournal.com]

"Breathe Me by ? (Defiance) - If you don't know the show, this doesn't give you the whole picture of Irisa, but as far as her more vulnerable side goes, this really conveys the heart and the importance of her relationship with Nolan. The pair of hugs at ~2:20 are especially moving to me."

Oh man I wish you'd still been here when we watched it, we fumbled a lot and I read wikipedia. Is the show good?? I forget about it for months at a time then get confused that NO ONE EVER TALKS ABOUT IT, not good nor ill!

[bironic.livejournal.com]

The answer to that question is complicated! Sorry I missed the discussion. I like that show and am also disappointed that more people don't talk about it. On my flist it was basically just thingswithwings last season.

[recrudescence.livejournal.com]

Holy balls, that Stoker vid. I was contemplating finally watching Stoker yesterday and this cemented my need to get it in my eyeballs immediately. I'm gonna go browse through the other vids now, even though it's obviously not as fun as a vid-viewing party!

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Did you watch the other Stoker vid? It's very good too.

Hey, parties have their pluses and minuses -- at least this way you get to pick the ones you want to watch, stop the ones that bore you, and not worry about distractions. :)

[recrudescence.livejournal.com]

I did, just commented a second ago! I also really liked the Carnivale and Red Shoes vids.